Guinea's Opposition Demands Election Annulment

Guinea's political opposition has called for the annulment of the September 28 legislative elections, saying the voting was marred by "massive fraud."

The opposition says there was fraud organized "before, during and after" the vote, including ballot stuffing, substitutions of vote counts sent to the electoral commission, and interference by government officials and army officers in the collecting of votes.

In a statement Friday, the opposition said the goal was to give President Alpha Conde's ruling party an "excessive parliamentary majority" and allow him to set up an "authoritarian regime."

The opponents say if the polling results are not invalidated, they will urge their supporters to launch protests.

On Thursday, the opposition said it was rejecting partial election results, which showed Mr. Conde's Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) party had taken a lead in several districts.

The RPG has appealed for calm. During a Friday press conference, party officials urged anyone who wanted to contest the results to follow legal procedures and take complaints to the supreme court.

Saturday's polling was the country's first legislative election in more than a decade and had been touted as the completion of the west African nation's transition from military rule to democracy.

President Conde was elected in 2010, two years after army officers took power following the death of authoritarian president Lansana Conte.

Some 1,700 candidates are seeking the 114 seats in Guinea's national assembly.

The voting had been postponed repeatedly over the past two years due in part to violent clashes and the threat of more trouble if the vote went ahead.